POLITICAL PARTY PRIMARIES GENDER ANALYSIS

About this Publication

Political parties in Ghana, regulated under the Political Parties Act, 2000, play a key role in shaping political participation, governance, and electoral processes, including the selection of candidates and dissemination of policy ideas. However, women and marginalized groups remain significantly underrepresented in party structures, limiting gender mainstreaming policies and decision-making. The two major parties the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) use internal primaries to select parliamentary candidates, a process that is central to democratic participation and party strategy. These primaries also reveal institutional gaps and provide opportunities to assess voter preferences and party support. Despite their importance, party primaries continue to reflect low inclusion of women, youth, and persons with disabilities. To address these gaps, there is a need for more inclusive party structures, stronger gender equality measures, and the creation of platforms such as youth leagues and mentorship systems to support emerging political actors, particularly young women. A gender analysis by GenCED highlights these disparities and calls for reforms to improve gender parity in political party participation and candidate selection.